Here's the best and shortest advice on character and plot ever given. It was novelist Joseph Wambaugh ("The Onion Field") talking about cop books, but you could apply it to any genre:
"The best crime stories are not about how cops work on cases but about how cases work on cops."
(For tips and techniques for how to be more creative & productive, sign up for my free monthly Brainstorm e-bulletin. Just send an email request to: [email protected])